Seasonal Safety Issues
Each season comes with its own particular safety risks, and children can face different and unique dangers at different times of the year. In this chapter, we discuss some of the common seasonal safety concerns that parents may wonder about. Please select from the menu on the left , or scroll down below this list for some interesting seasonal safety facts.
Seasonal safety facts and statistics
1. As noted by Martin R. Eichelberger, M.D., founder of SafeKids Worldwide, “sixty percent of childhood accidents take place during the summer months, especially around long holiday weekends.” Emergency room doctors also refer to these summertime months between Memorial Day and Labor Day as “trauma season,” as they provide an ongoing parade of injured bikers, boaters, swimmers, drivers, and other accident casualties. Not only are families out and about more, but their involvement in other activities often leads to increased lapses in parental supervision.
2. According to a 2010 study from the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, more kids show up in the E.R. with injuries on Labor Day weekend than on Christmas, Halloween, and the fourth of July.
3. Many local responders say that the fourth of July is their busiest day of the year (CBS News Phoenix, 6-26-08). So although Labor Day Weekend may prove the most injurious for kids, the 4th of July certainly runs a close second.
4. According to Justin McNaull, director of state relations for AAA auto clubs, the hundred deadliest days for teen drivers and teen passengers are between Memorial Day and Labor Day. An average of 422 teens die in auto accidents each month during the summer, compared with an average of 303 in non-summer months. Teens are out of school and spend 44% more hours driving during the summer, according to a study by Liberty Mutual and Students Against Destructive Decisions.
5. Violent crimes tend to increase during hot weather, along with arguments and conflict in general, because people are both more irritable and more likely to be outdoors with others, according to Mathew DeLisi, an Iowa State University sociologist who studies the subject.